Blog

FC Dallas

FRISCO – FC Dallas had its first training session of the week Tuesday in preparation for Sunday’s match at Chivas USA (6 p.m. CT on FSSW Plus).

While the team is looking ahead for what is a must-win to keep pace with Vancouver for the final playoff spot, head coach Schellas Hyndman addressed FCD’s 3-3 draw Saturday night at San Jose one last time with reporters.

“I think you have to realize it was a game we really played quite well,” Hyndman said, reflecting on the match nearly 60 hours after it concluded. “We had the lead twice against the No. 1 team in MLS – on their field, sell out crowd. Still frustrated, still disappointed that we didn’t manage those last few minutes.”

Hyndman said the team was prepared for an aggressive attack in the final minutes of the match, but that “we didn’t have the size to match them.”

However, the coach doesn’t fault the effort his players and said he couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Hyndman said he and the team ultimately share the same frustration – having a chance to control their playoff destiny and then having it slip away. FC Dallas remains just two points behind Vancouver for the final playoff spot.

But with a new week, it’s time to move forward.

“We all recognize that we can’t change that, so what we need to do now is be concentrating on the next three games,” Hyndman said.

The mysterious voters behind the MLS Power Rankings kept FC Dallas to No. 9 in the Week 30 rankings after a 3-3 draw at San Jose. Here's what the voters had to say:

Brutal, brutal way to drop points they'd thought they had earned. Let's talk, just for a moment, though, about that 50-yard ball David Ferreira put on a plate for Fabián Castillo in second-half stoppage. By our reckoning, it's one of the very best passes of the season, one that very, very few players could hit. Castillo should have finished it.

The 16-year-veteran said he’s been a part of some battles and the key is not letting pressure get the best of a team.

“There’s a lot of pressure this time of year. It’s not one team, it’s every team,” Hartman said. “You look at the emotion the players speak with before the games, after the games, you see how much is riding on it.”

Yes, FC Dallas needs to keep winning to get the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But the pressure, according to some soccer pundits, is seemingly on the team FCD is chasing – Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who haven’t won a match since August 11.

FC Dallas is just two points behind Vancouver with four matches remaining for both clubs.

Coach Schellas Hyndman says FCD is in a good place mentally right now.

“You can see the team is in a unified group right now,” Hyndman said.

That’s key, according to Hartman, who says he hopes he can provide some type of veteran leadership to some of the younger players during this stretch run.

“You hopefully relay that it’s important, to take it serious because you never know how many of these you’re going to get,” Hartman said. “I also think that you don’t want to put any undue burden on them.”

The FC Dallas Reserves return to the pitch tonight against the Sporting Kansas City Reserves at 7:30 p.m. FC Dallas fans are invited to watch the match at Field No. 4 at the Complex at FC Dallas Stadium.

It was an honor to present this painting of Bobby to Coach Reid and the UCONN soccer department this past weekend. The really cool part is that they had Bobby's game jersey from that very photo and it's going to be hung next to the painting in the soccer offices. Very cool!!

The unknown voters behind the MLS Power Rankings kept FC Dallas to No. 9 in the Week 29 rankings. Here's what the voters had to say:

Four games left, and they'll need to win at least three of those to get into the postseason. It starts off pretty rough, though, with a trip to Buck Shaw Stadium – where the Quakes haven't lost since summer of 2011. No Jair Benítez PKs this time, please.

Tuesday is the big day for soccer fans and gamers everywhere - the release of FIFA 13. This year's release comes with something extra for FC Dallas fans: Brek Shea featured on an official downloadable FIFA 13 cover. Here's what the cover looks like, which was created from a Matthew Visinsky photograph:

Thanks to a late goal from the Rapids' Jamie Smith, Colorado tied Vancouver 2-2 on Sunday night at BC Place. The match on Sunday was Vancouver's game-in-hand on FC Dallas and Vancouver could have built a two-match cushion in the standings. But after tonight, both FCD and Vancouver have four matches remaining with the Whitecaps just two points ahead of FCD in the standings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.